John Farrell's to-do list: 5 things the new Boston Red Sox manager has to accomplish

Tuesday, October 23, 2012 10:18 AM

Successful organizations don't have to have complete harmony in all departments. No one gets along with everyone.

It's important to be on the same page philosophically, though.

That doesn't mean there will be zero disagreements. It just means that the ultimate decisions reflect a direct and agreed upon path.

No one knows for sure how the relationship between Ben Cherington and Bobby Valentine was. Maybe they loathed each other, maybe they got along just fine. One thing that was apparent from the get-go was that they probably shouldn't be working together.

Before opening day 2012 even took place, the two men had a public disagreement on the wisdom of making Bard a starting pitcher as well as who the starting shortstop should be.

That set up a wall between Valentine and his general manager.

It wasn't the only wall though.

Valentine also had issues with his coaching staff. It doesn't matter who was at fault. Part of the problem was that Valentine was allowed to select some members of his coaching staff, and some were imposed upon him by upper management.

All of this built up to statements Valentine made on the final day of the regular season that implied he felt undermined by some members of his own coaching staff during the season.

The guilt or innocence of those involved really shouldn't be as much of an issue as the dynamic that led to the confrontation. Farrell should get to pick his coaching staff, and if the Red Sox are intent on having a say in who those coaches will be, they'd at least be wise to take Farrell's opinion into consideration before making those choices.